As we practise devotional service over a period of time, the enthusiasm and determination in Krishna consciousness should increase as the years pass by, but is the quiet opposite in some cases. And I was hearing from one very senior devotee and disciple of Srila Prabhupada, "Staying in Krishna Consciousness is not difficult; but getting the determination to stay in Krishna consciousness is difficult". Because the determination is weak, when a wave of problem comes in our life, the first thing which is hit is our devotional service. The lack of determination also is the subtle cause of our lack of faith in spiritual life. I always give excuses like increased work pressure, family commitments, external disturbances, health reasons etc. etc (the list is endless) for not being determined in making spiritual progress. However the Bhagavad Gita clearly gives the actual reason for this lack of determination.

bhogaishvarya prasaktaanaam / tayaa apahrta cetasaam
vyavasaayaatmikaa buddhir / samaadhau na vidiyate

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"The service of Truth is the function of the soul."

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura – Search for Truth (essay)

Disclaimer: The daily ‘Vedic thought’ are posted by Deepak Prabhu in the Yahoo Groups – Govindadwipa. All credits goes to him and the groups. Hare Krishna.

utsanna-kula-dharmāṇāḿ
manuṣyāṇāḿ janārdana
narake niyataḿ vāso
bhavatīty anuśuśruma

SYNONYMS

utsanna — spoiled; kula-dharmāṇām — of those who have the family traditions; manuṣyāṇām — of such men; janārdana — O Kṛṣṇa; narake — in hell; niyatam — always; vāsaḥ — residence; bhavati — it so becomes; iti — thus; anuśuśruma — I have heard by disciplic succession.

TRANSLATION

O Kṛṣṇa, maintainer of the people, I have heard by disciplic succession that those who destroy family traditions dwell always in hell.

PURPORT

Arjuna bases his argument not on his own personal experience, but on what he has heard from the authorities. That is the way of receiving real knowledge. One cannot reach the real point of factual knowledge without being helped by the right person who is already established in that knowledge. There is a system in the varṇāśrama institution by which before death one has to undergo the process of atonement for his sinful activities. One who is always engaged in sinful activities must utilize the process of atonement called the prāyaścitta. Without doing so, one surely will be transferred to hellish planets to undergo miserable lives as the result of sinful activities.

Disclaimer: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, translation courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.Krishna.com. Used with permission.

Dear Satsangis,

Hare Krishna!! All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Guru and Gauranga !

Today 31st March 2009, is the Birthday of Shreyas Shekar.

I request all the Vaishnavas to bestow their blessings on the occasion of this birthday occasion.

We beg at the lotus feet of Guru and Krishna and request their causeless mercy and choicest blessings on this soul, to have many more wonderful and blissful years of Krishna Conscious life.

Yours humble servant.

When the demons and demigods involved in the churning of milk ocean, saw the dangerous halahala poison coming out of milk ocean and spreading in all directions, they rushed to Lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva out of compassion for the suffering living entities decided to help them. In Srimad Bhagavatam, verse 8.7.39, he says to his wife Goddess Bhavani as follows

praanaih svaih praaninah paanti
saadhavah kshana bhanguraih
baddha vaireshu bhuteshu
mohiteshv aatma maayayaa

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"Living beings entangled in the complicated meshes of birth and death can be freed at once by even unconsciously chanting the holy name of Krsna, which is feared by fear personified."

Sages at Naimisaranya – Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.14

Disclaimer: The daily ‘Vedic thought’ are posted by Deepak Prabhu in the Yahoo Groups – Govindadwipa. All credits goes to him and the groups. Hare Krishna.

doṣair etaiḥ kula-ghnānāḿ
varṇa-sańkara-kārakaiḥ
utsādyante jāti-dharmāḥ
kula-dharmāś ca śāśvatāḥ

SYNONYMS

doṣaiḥ — by such faults; etaiḥ — all these; kula-ghnānām — of the destroyers of the family; varṇa-sańkara — of unwanted children; kārakaiḥ — which are causes; utsādyante — are devastated; jāti-dharmāḥ — community projects; kula-dharmāḥ — family traditions; ca — also; śāśvatāḥ — eternal.

TRANSLATION

By the evil deeds of those who destroy the family tradition and thus give rise to unwanted children, all kinds of community projects and family welfare activities are devastated.

PURPORT

Community projects for the four orders of human society, combined with family welfare activities, as they are set forth by the institution of sanātana-dharma, or varṇāśrama-dharma, are designed to enable the human being to attain his ultimate salvation. Therefore, the breaking of the sanātana-dharma tradition by irresponsible leaders of society brings about chaos in that society, and consequently people forget the aim of life — Viṣṇu. Such leaders are called blind, and persons who follow such leaders are sure to be led into chaos.

Disclaimer: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, translation courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.Krishna.com. Used with permission.

This is continuation of the transcription of  lecture, "Life begins from Cleanliness", given by our spiritual master HH Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj on  2008-12-10.

Read Part 1

When cleanliness is absent, discipline is completely absent. Regulated life is completely absent. Cleanliness will definitely help you to have discipline in your life. Because you are happy to see your things nicely arranged, you know what you need, what you don’t need. What to buy, what not to buy. If haphazard things are there, then you buy this and that and again some add scrap to whatever dump you have. This is ridiculous. Discipline is completely absent – There is C for Cleanliness and D for discipline. Because we are not clean, we are not disciplined and there is no education – E.

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sańkaro narakāyaiva
kula-ghnānāḿ kulasya ca
patanti pitaro hy eṣāḿ
lupta-piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ

SYNONYMS

sańkaraḥ — such unwanted children; narakāya — make for hellish life; eva — certainly; kula-ghnānām — for those who are killers of the family; kulasya — for the family; ca — also; patanti — fall down; pitaraḥ — forefathers; hi — certainly; eṣām — of them; lupta — stopped; piṇḍa — of offerings of food; udaka — and water; kriyāḥ — performances.

TRANSLATION

An increase of unwanted population certainly causes hellish life both for the family and for those who destroy the family tradition. The ancestors of such corrupt families fall down, because the performances for offering them food and water are entirely stopped.

PURPORT

According to the rules and regulations of fruitive activities, there is a need to offer periodical food and water to the forefathers of the family. This offering is performed by worship of Viṣṇu, because eating the remnants of food offered to Viṣṇu can deliver one from all kinds of sinful actions. Sometimes the forefathers may be suffering from various types of sinful reactions, and sometimes some of them cannot even acquire a gross material body and are forced to remain in subtle bodies as ghosts. Thus, when remnants of prasādam food are offered to forefathers by descendants, the forefathers are released from ghostly or other kinds of miserable life. Such help rendered to forefathers is a family tradition, and those who are not in devotional life are required to perform such rituals. One who is engaged in the devotional life is not required to perform such actions. Simply by performing devotional service, one can deliver hundreds and thousands of forefathers from all kinds of misery. It is stated in the Bhāgavatam (11.5.41):

devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāḿ pitṝṇāḿ
na kińkaro nāyam ṛṇī ca rājan
sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaḿ śaraṇyaḿ
gato mukundaḿ parihṛtya kartam

"Anyone who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda, the giver of liberation, giving up all kinds of obligation, and has taken to the path in all seriousness, owes neither duties nor obligations to the demigods, sages, general living entities, family members, humankind or forefathers." Such obligations are automatically fulfilled by performance of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Disclaimer: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, translation courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.Krishna.com. Used with permission.

Dear Satsangis,

Hare Krishna!! All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Guru and Gauranga !

Today 29th March 2009 is the Birth day of Ganesan K.S.

I request all the Vaishnavas to bestow their blessings on the occasion of this birthday occasion.

We beg at the lotus feet of Guru and Krishna and request their causeless mercy and choicest blessings on him, to have many more wonderful and blissful years of Krishna Conscious life.

Yours humble servant.

"It has been conclusively decided in the scriptures, after due consideration, that the ultimate goal for the welfare of human society is detachment from the bodily concept of life and increased and steadfast attachment for the Supreme Lord, who is transcendental, beyond the modes of material nature."

Prthu Maharaja – Srimad Bhagavatam 4.22.21

Disclaimer: The daily ‘Vedic thought’ are posted by Deepak Prabhu in the Yahoo Groups – Govindadwipa. All credits goes to him and the groups. Hare Krishna.

All yoga systems are meant to get Sri Krishna. By following these yoga systems we may get some mystic powers, siddhis, as we might have heard from some people that this person gets the ashes in his hand, this person goes up in the air, that person can walk on the water. But, by getting all these, there are more chances to forget the actual goal of our life. They are actually the distractions to our goal back home back to Godhead. This happens when we artificially control our senses and it doesn’t satisfy our soul. The actual satisfaction for the soul is derived from the devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhakti yoga is the top most yoga system and it has the higher taste towards loving service to the Lord.

Srila Prabhupada has very nicely explained how the soul gets satisfaction, in the verse SB 1.6.35:

yamaadibhir yoga-pathaih / kaama-lobha-hato muhuh
mukunda-sevayaa yadvat / tathaamaaddhaa na saamyati

"It is true that by practicing restraint of the senses by the yoga system one can get relief from the disturbances of desire and lust, but this is not sufficient to give satisfaction to the soul, for this [satisfaction] is derived from devotional service to the Personality of Godhead."

Srila Prabhupada in his wonderful purport explains that, "The senses are considered like venomous serpents, and the yoga system is just to control them. On the other hand, Narada Muni recommends another method for controlling the senses in the transcendental loving service of Mukunda, the Personality of Godhead. By his experience he says that devotional service to the Lord is more effective and practical than the system of artificially controlling the senses."

In SB 11.14.22, Lord Sri Krishna said to Uddhava that, "Neither religious activities endowed with honesty and mercy nor knowledge obtained with great penance can completely purify one’s consciousness if they are bereft of loving service to Me."

And also Srimad Bhagavatam says in 3.27.6, "One has to become faithful by practicing the controlling process of the yoga system and must elevate himself to the platform of unalloyed devotional service by chanting and hearing about Me."

Similarly in SB 11.14.21 Krishna says, "Only by practicing unalloyed devotional service with full faith in Me can one obtain Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I am naturally dear to My devotees, who take Me as the only goal of their loving service. By engaging in such pure devotional service, even the dog-eaters can purify themselves from the contamination of their low birth."

One of the senior vaishnava in one of his lecture in Singapore said, "Purify the senses rather than controlling the senses". Contemplating the senses is not truly engaging the senses.

In the purport Prabhupada says, "When the transcendental devotional service is mixed with a subordinate process, it is no longer transcendental but is called mixed devotional service".

We must develop Shuddha Bhakti not the mixed Bhakti. Shuddha Bhakti is eternal. Mixed devotional service or the shadow Bhakti gives more anarthas. The service done for the name, fame and adoration is the classic cause for showing the mixed devotional service. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that we should think ourselves lower than a straw in the street, while serving Krishna or devotees. We should not expect the benefit. Our devotional service should be unmotivated and uninterrupted and which should not be a show, as Bhagavatam 1.2.6 says,

"sa vai pumsaam paro dharmo, yato bhaktir adhokshaje, ahaituky apratihataa, yayaatmaa suprasidati; The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self."

Artificially controlling the senses is not the permanent solution for developing loving dealings with the Lord. If we develop the love towards Krishna and serve Him with great devotion then the senses are automatically controlled. We must ask ourselves, whatever service and sadhana we are doing, are we doing it for Krishna, are we developing more and more devotional service to the Lord or are we doing it for getting some cheap name and fame.

Devotional service is not a skill, it is the only loving service that we should have for the Lord. There is no other means for our existence.

I pray to our dear most Gurudev and all the vaishnavas to shower their blessings so that I can always remember Krishna by rendering loving service unto Him.

Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev,
Srilakshmi Devi Dasi
Singapore.

Disclaimer: This article was originally published in the Yahoo Groups run by the disciples of H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/granthraj/ by the devotee name mentioned above. The posting in this article, is original realizations of our Guru Maharaj and the devotee who wrote this. Any comments regarding this article would be passed on directly to the devotee. In this article, ‘Maharaj’ and ‘Gurudev’ implicitly refer to our spiritual master H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj.

Several times Srila Prabhupada interrupted a lecture or a japa session to tell someone, “Sit properly.” One devotee related to me that Prabhupada told him to “sit properly” when he was sitting on the floor with his knees up and his feet flat on the floor. Prabhupada writes: “First one must be able to sit properly, and then the mind and attention will become steady enough for practicing yoga.”

Physiology affects psychology. How we sit, stand or walk when chanting affects our ability to concentrate and pray. Right now slouch a bit and chant a few mantras while looking all around the room. Now sit up straight and chant a few mantras while either closing your eyes or looking at one thing (it doesn’t have to be a picture; it can even be one spot on the wall).

I am sure you immediately noticed the obvious difference in your ability to focus. It’s impossible to focus well on your japa when slouched over and constantly looking around.

Both the Hari Bhakti Vilasa and Srila Prabhupada state that it’s best to chant while sitting. Standing and walking are given as the second and third less desirable options. Sitting properly (sitting up straight) in your sacred space, focusing on your Diety or devotional pictures (or sitting with your eyes closed if you are not tired), will enable you to better focus on your japa. The more the body moves around and the more you look around, the more the mode of passion enters, thus causing a greater tendency for the mind to be distracted.

If you find it difficult to sit cross legged on the floor, get a firm cushion to sit on that is raised at least three inches off the ground (yoga supply websites sell these), or sit in a chair crossed legged. If you can’t sit crossed legged, then sit up straight in the chair.

If you chant while walking, keep your vision focused in a way that your chanting doesn’t become a site seeing tour. Also, remaining relaxed while standing or walking will keep your mind more focused.

When you sit down for chanting, experiment with chanting softly by whispering (this is called upamsu chanting). Many devotees find this kind of chanting helps them better control their minds than chanting loudly (although whispering, you can be loudly crying out internally). Softly chanting tends to bring increased internal focus for many devotees.

You can try two other things while sitting straight and chanting softly. First, relax your body. This frees up energy for controlling your mind (you exert energy when your body is tense and stressed). Secondly, place your bead bag over your heart (this is recommended by Bhaktivinoda Thakur). This may put you in a more prayerful mood (as often happens when your hands are folded in a prayer mudra in front of your heart).

Many devotees who have learned the techniques mentioned here have found them so beneficial that they are now chanting all of their rounds in one sitting.  However, if you find it difficult to do this, then at least chant a portion of your rounds sitting. And experiment with the principles mentioned above when you chant while standing or walking (stand straight, beads by your heart, relax your body, chant softly, and focus your eyes.).

There are no hard and fast rules for chanting. These are recommendations that come from the Hari Bhakti Vilasa. They are given as suggestions. Many devotees find these simple techniques do make a noticeable difference in their chanting. So give these techniques a try and see how they work for you.

There was once a hunter who lured birds with food and captured them after spreading a net. He lived as if appointed by death personified as the killer of the birds. While wandering in the forest, the hunter saw a pair of kulinga birds. Of the two, the female was captivated by the hunter’s lure.

The male kulinga bird, seeing his wife put into the greatest danger in the grip of Providence, became very unhappy. Because of affection, the poor bird, being unable to release her, began to lament for his wife."Alas, how merciless is Providence! My wife, unable to be helped by anyone, is in such an awkward position and lamenting for me. What will Providence gain by taking away this poor bird? What will be the profit?

If unkind Providence takes away my wife, who is half my body, why should He not take me also? What is the use of my living with half of my body, bereaved by loss of my wife? What shall I gain in this way? The unfortunate baby birds, bereft of their mother, are waiting in the nest for her to feed them. They are still very small and have not yet grown their wings. How shall I be able to maintain them?"

Because of the loss of his wife, the Kulinga bird lamented with tears in his eyes. Meanwhile, following the dictations of mature time, the hunter, who was very carefully hidden in the distance, released his arrow, which pierced the body of the Kulinga bird and killed him.

Purport:

Yamaraja once asked Maharaja Yudhisthira, "What is the most wonderful thing within this world?" Maharaja Yudhisthira replied (Mahabharata, Vana-parva 313.116):

ahany ahani bhutani
gacchantiha yamalayam
sesah sthavaram icchanti
kim ascaryam atah param

Hundreds and thousands of living entities meet death at every moment, but a foolish living being nonetheless thinks himself deathless and does not prepare for death. This is the most wonderful thing in this world. Everyone has to die because everyone is fully under the control of material nature, yet everyone thinks that he is independent, that whatever he likes he can do, that he will never meet death but live forever, and so on.

adharmābhibhavāt kṛṣṇa
praduṣyanti kula-striyaḥ
strīṣu duṣṭāsu vārṣṇeya
jāyate varṇa-sańkaraḥ

SYNONYMS

adharma — irreligion; abhibhavāt — having become predominant; kṛṣṇa — O Kṛṣṇa; praduṣyanti — become polluted; kula-striyaḥ — family ladies; strīṣu — by the womanhood; duṣṭāsu — being so polluted; vārṣṇeya — O descendant of Vṛṣṇi; jāyate — comes into being; varṇa-sańkaraḥ — unwanted progeny.

TRANSLATION

When irreligion is prominent in the family, O Kṛṣṇa, the women of the family become polluted, and from the degradation of womanhood, O descendant of Vṛṣṇi, comes unwanted progeny.

PURPORT

Good population in human society is the basic principle for peace, prosperity and spiritual progress in life. The varṇāśrama religion’s principles were so designed that the good population would prevail in society for the general spiritual progress of state and community. Such population depends on the chastity and faithfulness of its womanhood. As children are very prone to be misled, women are similarly very prone to degradation. Therefore, both children and women require protection by the elder members of the family. By being engaged in various religious practices, women will not be misled into adultery. According to Cāṇakya Paṇḍita, women are generally not very intelligent and therefore not trustworthy. So the different family traditions of religious activities should always engage them, and thus their chastity and devotion will give birth to a good population eligible for participating in the varṇāśrama system. On the failure of such varṇāśrama-dharma, naturally the women become free to act and mix with men, and thus adultery is indulged in at the risk of unwanted population. Irresponsible men also provoke adultery in society, and thus unwanted children flood the human race at the risk of war and pestilence.

Disclaimer: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, translation courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.Krishna.com. Used with permission.

Once a sculptor in a village made a beautiful idol of a goddess and thought of selling it at a good price in the city. So he loaded the idol on his donkey and started towards the city. When he was going through the village, the villagers bowed in front of the idol as it looked like a real goddess. Whichever street he crossed, a crowd would bow in front of the idol.

But a strange thing happened. The donkey, which was carrying the idol, thought that he was special and that was the reason why people were bowing to him. He was thrilled with his newfound respect.

Soon the sculptor returned after selling the idol. While he was crossing the village, the donkey stopped in the middle of the road, expecting a warm welcome. But nobody paid attention to him. The donkey felt insulted and started braying, so much so, that the villagers drove him away.

The same mistake, what the donkey did, is what most of us do. When we are on the divine path of self-realization, with God’s grace, a glow enters our demeanor and we stand out in the crowd. People respect such persons and often bow in respect. But we should realize that people are bowing not to us but to that glimpse of God whom they realize resides within us. So the credit of this respect goes, solely to God, not to us. If we start taking the credit, we cross the thin line of demarcation and enter into an area of false ego, which God dislikes most.

The basic difference between material and devotional lifestyle is that, in material life the more we progress, the more ego we develop. In a devotional lifestyle, the more we progress, the more ego we shed.

Purport:

The person in material consciousness is convinced by false ego that he is the doer of everything. He does not know that the mechanism of the body is produced by material nature, which works under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. The materialistic person has no knowledge that ultimately he is under the control of Krishna. The person in false ego takes all credit for doing everything independently, and that is the symptom of his nescience.

Bhagavad-gita 3.27

Horror gripped the heart of a World War-I soldier, as he saw his lifelong friend fall in battle. The soldier asked his Lieutenant if he could go out to bring his fallen comrade back.

"You can go," said the Lieutenant, "but don’t think it will be worth it. Your friend is probably dead and you may throw your life away."

The Lieutenant’s words didn’t matter, and the soldier went anyway.

Miraculously, he managed to reach his friend, hoisted him onto his shoulder and brought him back to their company’s trench.

The officer checked the wounded soldier, then looked kindly at his friend. " I told you it wouldn’t be worth it," he said. "Your friend is dead and you are mortally wounded."

"It was worth it, Sir," said the soldier.

"What do you mean by worth it?" responded the Lieutenant."Your friend is dead."

"Yes Sir," the soldier answered, "but it was worth it because when I got to him, he was still alive and I had the satisfaction of hearing him say…….

Man…I knew you would come !

"When one’s mind is attached to Krsna, one can fulfill the mission of life in one human birth. If one misses this opportunity, one does not know where he is going, how long he will remain in the cycle of birth and death, and when he will achieve the human form of life and the chance to return home, back to Godhead. The most intelligent person, therefore, uses every moment of his life to render loving service to the Lord."

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada – Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.9.42, Purport

Disclaimer: The daily ‘Vedic thought’ are posted by Deepak Prabhu in the Yahoo Groups – Govindadwipa. All credits goes to him and the groups. Hare Krishna.

In UAE the famous notices are pink slips from Employers and building demolition notices. These are the most vulnerable and devastating notices. But of all the notices the most inevitable and most devastating notice is when somebody (who is breadwinner for the family) is given notice of his imminent death say 6 months or 1 year because of killer diseases like cancer, kidney failure etc the whole family would turn into a gloomy place. The entire family would be devastated and would think of their miserable misfortune and try to blame the easiest and most accessible person – GOD. Since the Lord is not in front of us, we immediately blame Him for all the misfortune. This is tendency of the material world. Also it is possible among devotees also since most of us have neither realized the transcendental Lord nor His abode. We immediately blame Lord Krishna why you have done to us inspite of so much of my chanting and devotional service. Prabhupad writes in the pages of Srimad Bhagavatam that even the most pious souls has to suffer the conditions of material nature. So where is the question of exception for us?

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kula-kṣaye praṇaśyanti
kula-dharmāḥ sanātanāḥ
dharme naṣṭe kulaḿ kṛtsnam
adharmo ‘bhibhavaty uta

SYNONYMS

kula-kṣaye — in destroying the family; praṇaśyanti — become vanquished; kula-dharmāḥ — the family traditions; sanātanāḥ — eternal; dharme — religion; naṣṭe — being destroyed; kulam — family; kṛtsnam — whole; adharmaḥ — irreligion; abhibhavati — transforms; uta — it is said.

TRANSLATION

With the destruction of dynasty, the eternal family tradition is vanquished, and thus the rest of the family becomes involved in irreligion.

PURPORT

In the system of the varṇāśrama institution there are many principles of religious traditions to help members of the family grow properly and attain spiritual values. The elder members are responsible for such purifying processes in the family, beginning from birth to death. But on the death of the elder members, such family traditions of purification may stop, and the remaining younger family members may develop irreligious habits and thereby lose their chance for spiritual salvation. Therefore, for no purpose should the elder members of the family be slain.

Disclaimer: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, translation courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.Krishna.com. Used with permission.